Automatic punch press



Dec. 15, 1936. A. EMCASEIQQTA .7 2,064,731

' AUTOMATIC PUNCH PRESS r Filed Aug. 20,' 1934 Patented Dec. 15, 1936 AUTOMATEC PUNCH PRESS Alfred E. Cascrta, Hartford, Conn, assignor to The Henry & Wright Manufacturing Company, Hartford, Conn, a corporation of Connecticut Application August 20, 1934, Serial No. 740,604

3 Claims.

My invention relates to that type of punch presses which are constructed of plates of sheet steel welded together to provide a hollow structure and with means for automatically feeding the stock to the action of the dies, and an object of my invention, among others, is the production of a punch press of this type that shall be eX- tremely strong in construction and particularly efiicient in operation.

One form of a punch press embodying my invention and in the construction and use of which the objects herein set out, as well as others, may be attained is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Figure l is a front view of a punch press embodyingmy invention.

Figure 2 is a side view of the same.

Figure 3 is a view in horizontal section on a a plane denoted by the dotted line 33 of Fig. 1.

Figure 4 is a view on enlarged scale in horizontal section through one of the uprights.

My invention relates particularly to punch presses in which the frame members are of hollow construction, being composed of plates, commonly of steel, welded together and in which the material or stock is automatically fed to the action of dies by means of feeding mechanism operating to feed stock usually by a step-by-step movement.

Such a press is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which the base is composed of ends 5 and a table 6 joining said ends. The ends are each composed of side plates l which are joined by tie plates 8, said parts being secured as by means of welding to constitute a rigid hollow structure. The table consists of front and back plates, the front plate s being shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, said plates being of similar construction united by a bottom plate iii and a bed plate H at the top upon which bed plate the bottom die 12 is supported.

Uprights it are secured to the table or ends a? and project upwardly therefrom at opposite sides of the machine. These uprights are composed of sheets or plates of metal which may be partially bent to form or which may consist of plates joined at the corners as by welding to constitute a hollow rigid structure.

A crown surmounts the top of the uprights it, this crown consisting of a base I iformed in any suitable manner with a web I5 rising therefrom and extending longitudinally through the center thereof, said web being supported as by means of braces 16 secured to the base and to the web as by means of welding.

(Cl. IMP-.86)

The crown, uprights and base are joined together as by means of bolts l1 and nuts which may be shrunk to provide a rigid structure.

A crank shaft it is mounted in hearings in the crown and is driven as by means of a pulley or fly wheel iii in any suitable manner. The crank shaft is connected with and actuates a slide or ram 23 or any suitable and ordinary construction mounted for reciprocating movement in slideways between the uprights l3, this ram having a die 2! that operates in connection with the die l2 in the stamping process in a manner that will be readily understood.

The automatic feature consists of means for automatically feeding predetermined increments of material to be die worked together with means for releasing or freeing said material during the period of re-allocation or piloting, the component units of such feed being designated as the roll feed unit, synchronizing rack, roll feed drive and roll release. The roll feed unit is attached to the outside of the uprights, the stock or material being fed to the dies through openings 22 made in such uprights, and in order to prevent weakening of the uprights by the formation of the holes or openings 22 webs 23--24 are extended across the space between the side plates of the uprights, and as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 of the draw- The feed unit is so attached to the machine that its position may be adjusted vertically to compensate for varying thickness in dies. Two of these units may be employed, as shown in Fig. 1 or" the drawing, said units being located on opposite sides of the uprights. Each feed unit consists of a pair of rolls so mounted that they operate in direct contact with each other, being spring pressed one toward the other and one roll being movable to permit intermittent re lease of the material for feeding purposes. This movable roll is preferably the driven member and it is operated by means of pawl and ratchet mechanism by means of a rod 25 having a rack at its lower end engaged with a pinion in a manner that will be readily understood, said rod being connected for reciprocating movement with a cross shaft 25 as by means of a crank plate 21 on said shaft 25, in a manner that will be readily understood, and as shown in Fig. l of the draw- Gears 28 connect the cross shaft with the crank shaft 58, a cam 29 secured to said cross shaft acting to operate a releasing lever 30 connected by a rod 3! with a lever 32 mounted in a bracket on the base of the machine, said lever being connected by a link 33 with a lever 34 actuated to operate the rolls for releasing purposes in a manner that will be readily understood. In the structure herein shown the lower end of the link 33 is pivotally attached to an arm secured to the opposite end of a rock shaft 45 extending across the end of the machine and mounted in bearings in brackets attached to said end, and as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing.

A synchronizing rod 35 is attached at one end to an arm 36 rigid with the shaft 45 and at its opposite end with an arm 31 rigidly connected by a rock shaft 48 extending across the end of the machine with an arm 38 which operates the releasing mechanism on the side of the machine opposite to that which is directly driven from the cross shaft and which is similar in construction to said mechanism, and for which reason further description is omitted herein.

A rack on the lower end of the rod 25 meshes with the teeth of a pinion 39 loosely mounted on an actuating shaft 40 to which pinion another pinion 4| is secured and carries a pawl meshing with a ratchet 42 secured to the shaft 40. A synchronizing bar 43 has a rack at one end in mesh with the teeth of the pinion 42 and a rack at its opposite end in mesh with a similar pinion 44 comprising one member of a feeding mechanism the same as that just described on the opposite side of the machine, said bar maintaining operation of the feed mechanisms in synchronism one with another.

In securing the feed units to the side of the press a plate 4'! is placed fiat against the outer surface of each of the uprights I3, this plate being secured in place as by welding. Side brackets 48 are secured to said plate and to the outer surface of the ends 5 of the base.

In the operation of these feeds much force is applied thereto and it therefore becomes essential to resist this force on opposite sides of a horizontal plane through the feed rolls, and the side brackets are therefore not only secured to the base but are projected upwardly and secured to the plates 41.

While the feeds are illustrated and described herein as attached to the sides of the machine, the stock moving laterally across the machine, it is my intention that the feeds may be located in other positions to feed the stock in other directions than as herein shown and described.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes I have described the principles of operation of my invention together with the device which I now consider to represent the best embodiments thereof; but I desire to have it understood that the device shown is only illustrative and that the invention may be carried out by other means and applied to uses other than those above set out.

I claim:

1. A punch press frame including a base and uprights rising therefrom all composed of sheet metal plates welded together to form hollow structures, said uprights having oppositely located openings in the side walls thereof for passage of stock, a plunger supported between and a crown supported upon said uprights, a crank shaft supported by said uprights, a plate secured flat against the side of said frame as by welding and acting to restore the strength lessened by the removal of stock from said opening, a bracket secured to said plate and projecting therefrom, a feeding mechanism mounted in said bracket adjacent one of said openings, an operative connection between said crank shaft and plunger for operation of the latter, and an operative connection between said crank shaft and feeding mechanism for operation of the latter.

2. A punch press including a base and uprights rising therefrom all composed of sheet metal plates welded together to form hollow structures, said uprights having oppositely located openings in the side walls thereof for passage of stock, a plunger supported between and a crown supported upon said uprights, a crank shaft supported by said uprights and operatively connected with said plunger, a plate welded to the outer surface of each upright at the lower end thereof and acting to restore the strength lessened by the removal of stock from said opening, a feeding mechanism having side parts secured against each of said plates, and an operative connection between said crank shaft and the feeding mechanism.

3. A punch press including a base and uprights rising therefrom all composed of sheet metal plates welded together to form hollow structures, said uprights having oppositely located openings in the side walls thereof for passage of stock, a plunger supported between and a crown supported upon said uprights, a crank shaft supported by said uprights, brackets secured on opposite sides of said openings and extending upwardly and downwardly therefrom and acting to restore the strength lessened by the removal of stock from said opening, a feeding mechanism comprising rolls mounted in said brackets adjacent each of said openings, an operative connection between said crank shaft and plunger for operation of the latter, and an operative connection between said crank shaft and feeding mechanism for operation of the latter.

ALFRED E. CASERTA. 

